Lay Leadership in Worship Resources

Welcome.

This page provides resources for you to lead worship services, Morning and Evening Prayer, and the Liturgy of the Word, a church service without the Eucharist. 

(For those lay persons wishing to lead the primary Sunday worship service, please contact Paula Blundell at the Synod Office regarding obtaining a Lay Ministry certificate to do so.) 

Resources are provided for the BAS and BCP prayerbooks, Pray without Ceasing, as well as other forms of leading the Liturgy of the Word. Also provided are resources for a greater understanding of the lectionary and the liturgical year, the context of our Anglican worship, and ways to worship that engage with our bodies as well as minds and spirits. 

The Liturgical Year

• Diagram of the Liturgical Calendar 2023-2024 (TEC)
• Guidelines for Scripture Readers
• The Vanderbilt Lectionary
• The Lectionary of the Anglican Church of Canada
• Season of Creation booklet and readings  (this is issued annually)
• Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings

Our worship context - global and local

• What Does it Mean to be Anglican? (video)
• What is the Anglican Communion? (video)
• Article and short video on the evolution of the Anglican Communion: https://www.anglicancommunion.org/structures/what-is-the-anglican-communion.aspx 
• A resource for preparing a thoughtful land acknowledgment
• A podcast on land acknowledgment (38 minutes in)

Prayer Books and Prayer Resources online

Please take a look at the extensive list of resources on our own diocesan website.
The Anglican Church of Canada has a great page of worship resources to download. You can also download the following by clicking on these links:

• Book of Common Prayer 1962
• Book of Alternative Services
• Pray without Ceasing (for seasons and ordinary time)
• For all the Saints
• Alternative Collects - Years A, B & C
• Authorized liturgies for the Diocese of Islands and Inlets
• Eucharistic Prayers, Services of the Word and Night Prayers - Supplementary to the BAS

Leading a Prayer Service

• BCP Morning Prayer - a roadmap
• The Church of England prayer services
• Leading worship for all the senses - a guide

Sermons 

Choose from a variety of excellent pre-prepared sermons to share with your congregation for each Sunday in the year - Sermons that Work

The Church of England provides sermon resources for different seasons:
Advent and Christmas

Other services to consider

• Taize offers peaceful, meditative services of candlelight and chanting. This form of worship originated with the ecumenical Taize community in Taize, France. Watch a prayer service here.
• Celtic worship has its roots first in Ireland, then spreading through Scotland and Britain to the whole world. Learn more and watch a service here.

Recommended reading:

A note:  While Amazon links are given here for convenience, you are actively encouraged to order and purchase these books from your local independent bookstore, or, even better, buy them secondhand (Thrift Books is a great online resource.)

• Common Prayer - A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
• Celtic Daily Prayer - the Northumbria Community 
• Celebrating Common Prayer - SSF 
• Let the Whole Church Say Amen! - a Guide for Those Who Pray in Public
• Contemporary Parish Prayers 
• New Parish Prayers 

Some of the prayer books Sr. Ingrid used during the course:

• Women's Uncommon Prayers
• Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim
• Every Moment Holy
• To Bless the Space Between Us

Bible Versions:

We use the NRSV version of the Bible in worship, although reading from Eugene Petersen's The Message, which is a translation in contemporary language, can often deepen understanding. Similarly, take a look at the First Nations Version - an equivalence translation of the Bible, for its exquisite language, striking images and unique perspective.